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Free onsite flu shots are a benefit we’re happy to provide annually to our staff

Planning For Flu Season

Many employers may not realize the impact that the flu season can have on their company. If a major influenza outbreak hits your community, you may face highly elevated employee absenteeism rates, which could lead to business interruption and lost production. Being prepared for a possible severe outbreak in your community will help ensure that your business runs as smoothly as possible throughout the flu season.

Prevention

As an employer, there are steps you can take to help your employees avoid catching seasonal influenza. Stress the importance of washing hands thoroughly and often, and consider providing hand sanitizer in common areas. Emphasize other personal health strategies, such as avoiding touching one’s nose, mouth or eyes and covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue.

Make sure that commonly touched objects like elevator buttons, door knobs and keyboards are disinfected frequently. Encourage employees to get vaccinated against seasonal flu each year, and consider offering seasonal flu shots in your workplace.

Keep employees educated on prevention techniques, and encourage them to apply those strategies to their own households as well.

You may not realize the huge impact that the flu season could have on your business, but preparation now can minimize business interruption during an outbreak.

It is important that all employees completely understand the sick leave policies and any new provisions in place, so if the flu hits, they are informed and prepared.

In addition, you should create contingency plans for essential operations and job duties, so your operations run smoothly even in the event of absences.

Preparing for an Outbreak

Influenza is spread easily through person-to-person contact, so the best way to prevent the spread of it in your workplace is for sick employees to say home until their symptoms are gone.

It is essential to review ’s policies to ensure enough flexibility to meet the challenges that each flu season may present. Sick leave policies should be accommodating, non-punitive and well-communicated to encourage ill employees to stay home and allow employees to care for sick family members.

Consider implementing plans for such employees to work remotely from home if possible. By accommodating ill employees or employees with ill family members, you can keep business interruption to a minimum while also avoiding the spread of influenza throughout your workplace.

Now Is The Time To Get Vaccinated

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine each year.
  • Your doctor can tell you which flu vaccines are available and most appropriate for you.
  • Vaccines protect against both Type A strains of influenza (H1N1 and H3N2) and a Type B strain. Both trivalent (three component) and quadrivalent (four component) flu vaccines will be available during the 2019-2020 flu season. The quadrivalent vaccines also protect against the additional Type B strain.
  • Getting a flu vaccine will not make you sick, but you may have minor side effects that mirror flu symptoms, lasting one to two days.

You should get the flu vaccine as soon as it is available in your area. However, if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, it is not too late—influenza activity can continue even into April or May.

Get The Facts On The Flu Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months receive an annual flu vaccine.   is proud to offer you a flu vaccine this winter to prevent the onset and spread of the virus.

  • MYTH: If you get the flu vaccine, you will get the flu.
    • You cannot get the flu from the vaccine because it is composed of inactivated viruses. You may experience minor soreness or redness at the inject site, headaches, a low-grade fever or a runny nose for a day or two after receiving the shot.
  • MYTH: Getting an annual flu shot will weaken your immune system.
    • The flu vaccine will actually boost your immune system to fight off the virus. Those who get the vaccine every year are 40-60% more likely to avoid contracting the flu.

Stop The Spread of Germs

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following strategies are effective for helping prevent the spread of illness, including influenza:

  1. Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw your used tissue in the garbage.
  2. If you don’t have a tissue handy, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
  3. Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. If you are not near a sink, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.